Trimarni Coaching and Nutrition

  Keeping with our theme of the year, the Whitewater triathlon on May 6th was looking to be very rainy (we've experienced rain for all five of our off-road events this year). We debated if it was worth doing the race but on Thursday of the race, we decided that we would still gain a lot from the race experience. After we registered online, the weather started to improve and based on my Epic Weather app, it was looking like the weather would work out for a dry day of racing.  Although this race had a small participant list, it didn't make the race any less important to us. We still felt the nerves/anticipation for anytime we show up to a start line, we want to give our best and we know to do so, the effort is going to be uncomfortable and there will be obstacles to overcome. The really cool thing about off-road triathlon racing is that the entire race experience feels more like playtime than something serious like on-road triathlon racing. Swimming in open water, riding a mount...

  After enjoying our race experience at the Whole Enchilada in 2022, we were really looking forward to participating again. I swam with our masters group at the aquatic center in the morning and Karel swam at Furman. We were going into this event with a solid week of training in us. We left Greenville around 12:30pm and had homemade sandwiches, grapes and chips during our 2 hour drive to the Whitewater Center. We did a 90 min recon ride on the East Main loop (11.7 miles). I could feel the fatigue in my arms and legs from the previous workouts this week but it felt good to be out on the trails. Last year when I participated in the event I had only been mountain biking for a few months so to have another year of riding behind me, I could notice that my skills had improved. However, I still struggle a lot with tight/twisty turns  but I'm determined to continue to work on it. I was looking forward to one specific obstacle that I really struggled with last year. It's a short steep ...

  I can't remember when it happened but Karel told me he registered us for The Whole Enchilada MTB event at the Whitewater center in NC. I was excited for the opportunity to test my new skills (thanks Lon!)  and to use this event as a "long" training ride. Although the GPS shows 44 miles, the accurate distance (wheel measured) was 50 miles - which would be my longest ever MTB ride.  Earlier last week Karel and I went to the pump track in TR (a few miles away) and practiced some of our skills. While it feels like we are playing, there is some fear, discomfort and anxiety that is produced when practicing/learning new skills. I was proud of myself for finally getting the rhythm of "pumping" and conquering my steepest ramp. I struggled on some other areas but I know that I will be an ongoing work in progress. Karel is still struggling on the jumps as he is very fearful about crashing. I know he will get it one day but right now, his recent crash last May is still pr...